Release Time

Your approved grant budgets will include the release time to be charged and the corresponding number of courses.

Released time may be charged for the following periods for faculty and staff:

  • Fall Semester (9/1 – 1/15)
  • Spring Semester (1/16 – 5/31)
  • Additionally, 12-month employees (non-faculty) may be released for the summer (6/1 – 8/31).

You can charge release time for the following periods (making sure it is within your approved grant period) by submitting a Staff Effort Notice (SEN) form:

  • Past semester(s): Overdue - Submit as soon as possible – You must also submit a letter of justification since the SEN is late.
  • Current Semester: SEN should be submitted before the start of the semester.  Please complete the SEN ASAP and submit it to our office before the end of the month.
  • Future Semester: SEN may be completed now or before the start of the semester in which the course/effort will be charged.

Charging your accounts sooner than later is in everyone’s best interest for reasons such as scheduling classes, workload reporting, reporting grant activities to the sponsor, distribution of recoveries back to the PI, etc.

Procedures for Completing the Staff Effort Notice form:

Top of Form

  • RF Grant No.: Project Account number
  • Principal Investigator: Principal Investigator’s name
  • Purpose of Project: Check the applicable box
  • Budget Period: Account start and end date

Middle of Form

  • Lines 1-3:
    • Employee Name: Person release time is being charged for on grant.
    • Project Position: PI, Co-PI, Project Director, Faculty, Research Associate, etc.
    • % Effort: OSP can assist in calculating the percentage effort.  [E.g. One course release charged for one semester (3 credits/10.5 credits in a semester) would equal 28.57% effort.]
    • Salary Charge to Award: Dollar to be charged per your approved budget (not including fringe benefits).
    • Cost Sharing: Leave blank unless you included in your grant that the College would be cost-sharing your time (prior approval required).
    • For the Period: Period you are being released.
      • Faculty (9-month appointment)
        • Fall semester: 9/1/xx to 1/15/xx
        • Spring semester: 1/16/xx to 5/31/xx
      • For non-faculty (12-month appointment)
        • Fall 9/1/xx to 1/15/xx
        • Spring 1/16/xx to 5/31/xx
        • An additional 3 months (summer) 6/1/xx to 8/31/xx can be charged.
  • Line 4: Leave blank.
  • Line 5: Fill in “John Jay College of Criminal Justice.”
  • Line 6: PI’s signature
  • Line 7: OSP must sign off before submitting to the Research Foundation.

Bottom of Form

  • Name of Person Released
  • Current Annual Salary (for the period being released)
  • Period your salary covers:
    • Could be 9/1/xx-5/31/xx for faculty.
    • Could be 7/1/xx-6/30/xx for staff.

Effort Reporting (must be completed after the end of the released period)

Effort reporting is a Federal and University requirement. PIs certify for themselves and other faculty/staff on their project(s)/account(s).  Please verify that you have completed a Staff Effort Notice for your release time on all applicable RF accounts for the current period.  This must be done before you certify the effort (please contact the grants office for assistance).

Instructions to Complete Release Time Effort Certification:

  • Sign on to www.rfcuny.org. 
  • Scroll over the E-Services tab, click on Effort Reporting, and then click  Certification (or go to https://www.rfcuny.org/effortreporting/certification/).
  • Choose the current period (e.g., Fall Semester 2016) and the Employee name.  Faculty can only be released during the Fall and Spring semesters.  HEOs may need to certify Release Time for the Summer Period and the Fall and Spring semesters.
  • Instructional is the default for the remainder of the effort.  You may adjust the percentage to the appropriate section if inaccurate (Instruction, Department Administration, Other Institutional Activity, or University Research).
  • Choose Agree next to the effort percentage if the percentages are correct (e.g., a three-credit course release is ~28.57%). Your RF project(s) rates are taken directly from your submitted staff effort notices. (If you don’t agree or have any questions, contact the grants office before taking action.)
  • Click Process and then Confirm in the pop-up window.

If you require assistance completing the Staff Effort Notice (SEN), please call 646-557-4867  and schedule a meeting to visit the Office of Sponsored Programs.  We will need to know your salary, the semester/period you’re charging the release time for, and the number of courses/percent effort you charge to the grant.

If you need your RF User ID and password sent to you, please email weblogonid@rfcuny.org.